“THE SECOND HE WALKED OUT… THE ENTIRE ROOM CHANGED.” For the first time in six years, Riley Green returned to the ACM Awards stage — and fans instantly knew this wasn’t going to be just another performance. Singing “Change My Mind” with his signature calm intensity, Riley turned the arena completely silent before the crowd exploded into cheers by the final chorus. What shocked many viewers even more was realizing that despite becoming one of the biggest names in modern country music, this was still only his second ACM performance ever. And now fans online are calling it the moment Riley Green officially proved he belongs among country music’s biggest stars. By the end of the song, social media was already flooded with one emotional reaction: “Why did it take SIX YEARS to bring him back?”

Riley Green Was One Of The First Performers Announced For The 61st Annual ACM Awards

On March 9th, the ACM Awards announced the first three performers at the iconic award show would be Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, and Cody Johnson.

Later, other performers announced included Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert,

Riley’s History At The ACM Awards

Riley Green has won four ACM Awards since he burst on the scene in 2019.

At the 2020 show, he took home Top New Male Vocalist Of the Year. His next win didn’t come until 2025 when he won three awards for “You Look Like You Love Me,” his massive duet with Ella Langley.

They won Visual Media of the Year, Music Event of the Year, and Single of the Year.

While he didn’t perform at the 2025 ceremony, he did introduce Zach Top’s performance!

His first and only ACM Awards performance came during the 2020 ceremony when he performed “I Wish Grandpas Never Died.”

Green is up for four ACM Awards at the 2026 ceremony: Album of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Artist-Songwriter Of The Year, and Music Event of the Year.

Riley Performed “Change My Mind” At The 2026 ACM Awards

Despite being one of the most popular country singers in recent years, Green is only performing at the ACM Awards for the second time at the 2026 show! He took the stage to perform his latest single, “Change My Mind.”

“Change My Mind” was released on January 5, 2026 as the third single from his third studio album, Don’t Mind If I Do, which he dropped on October 18, 2024.

Green co-wrote the track with Erik Dylan and Randy Montana, while longtime country producer Dann Huff handled production.

The song quickly became one of the standout tracks from the album and gained strong traction at country radio. “Change My Mind” climbed into the Top 10 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in the U.S. It also hit No. 1 on the MusicRow Country Breakout Radio Chart in April 2026. Several music tracking sites also showed the song becoming one of Green’s highest-performing radio singles to date.

Green has performed “Change My Mind” at several major live events. He included the song in his 2026 RodeoHouston 2026 setlist, where reviewers highlighted it as one of the crowd favorites during his opening-night performance.

Riley’s Performance

For the first time in six years, Green performed at the ACM Awards, making his television debut of “Change My Mind.”

He ditched his red carpet look for a more casual outfit of a denim button down for his epic return to the ACM stage.

What did you think of his performance?! Watch it below.